Hampshire Police is the first force in England to use a new
management system for SJP cases. Anyone in the county responding
to an SJP charge, such as a traffic offence, will be able to
enter their plea digitally. This means they can resolve their
case quickly, fairly and efficiently without going to court.
Emily Brown, Summary Justice Unit Team Leader at Hampshire
Constabulary welcomed their involvement:
I’m delighted we’ve been chosen as the first force to deal with
traffic offences using this new system. I can see immediate
benefits and some real efficiencies for the police, as well as
for our local citizens.
It will mean that when people are charged with traffic offences,
like speeding or driving without insurance – and if they plead
guilty – they’ll be dealt with efficiently and fairly by the
justice system, with minimal delays.
It means our local courts can concentrate on those cases that
really need to be there and for us, as prosecutors, we’re able to
see and act on real-time results.
Single Justice Service
The service is responsible for administering single justice
procedure (SJP) cases, delivered through the Common Platform, our
new digital case management system. Support for users of the
service is provided by the Courts and Tribunals Service Centre.
It’s designed to enable HMCTS and our justice partners to manage
and share criminal case information more effectively. It delivers
greater transparency, consistency and faster case processing.
The SJP is an element of the Single Justice Service
introduced in 2015, which allows a single magistrate to deal with
adult, summary-only, non-imprisonable offences for ‘guilty’ pleas
and ‘proof in absence’ cases (when a defendant has not responded
to a charge). These cases account for about 850,000 of criminal
cases per annum, which almost exclusively result in a financial
penalty.
The magistrate, supported by a legal adviser, decides on these
cases outside of the courtroom in the absence of the prosecutor
and defendant. It allows those who plead guilty to resolve their
case without going to court, minimises delay and frees up court
time for those cases that need to be heard in court.
How it works
Hampshire Police’s traffic offence details will upload directly
on to the case management system, gradually increasing volumes.
As soon as the defendant provides a guilty plea online, the
system will prioritise their case. A plea may be dealt with
immediately and defendants will no longer have to wait a minimum
of 28 days for an outcome (for a fine, withdrawal or referral to
open court), as is currently the case.
Postal pleas will still be an option and will go to a centralised
unit and uploaded to the case.
All defendants can request an open hearing in court whether they
enter a guilty plea or not guilty plea.
Our Courts and Tribunals Service Centre will support defendants
and magistrates’ courts using the process, rather than queries
going to individual courts. They will also allocate open
hearings.
Future roll-out plans
We’re currently rolling out the Common
Platform for other criminal cases to all criminal courts
across England and Wales, and plan to have completed this process
by the end of 2021.
It’s already being used by courts to process Transport for
London, TV Licensing and DVLA SJP cases, for example:
- using a television without a licence
- failing to show a valid train ticket whilst travelling on a
train service
We are planning to further extend the roll out to non-police
prosecutors, including local authorities and transport companies
over the next few months.
The overall system performance will be closely monitored, making
sure everything works as anticipated, before gradually increasing
capacity.
